Foiled in its bid to hold a third straight opponent scoreless, the Downers Grove North defense did the next-best thing in the Trojans’ 20-14 West Suburban cross-over victory at rival Downers Grove South on Friday night.
They pitched a second-half shutout.
North’s defense came up big after halftime, keeping the Mustangs off the board, while Trojans quarterback Garrett Edwards’ 39-yard touchdown run with 3:34 left in the third quarter held up as the game-winner.
“We made some great adjustments at halftime, especially in how we were going to pass rush,” said North defensive back Kevin Tokarski, whose interception with less than two minutes left ended the Mustangs’ final chance. “They scored two quick touchdowns on us, but we knew that if we shut them out in the second half, we’d win the game.”
Trailing 14-13 at halftime, North (8-1) had to score at least once to turn the game over to the defense, and Edwards’ ramble did just that. It came only four plays after the Trojans’ first defensive hold of the second half, when South (7-2) penetrated the North red zone only to see quarterback Drew Burdi sacked four times in the possession’s final six plays.
South’s final two offensive possessions ended with a Nick Schwartz sack on fourth down near midfield and Tokarski’s interception.
“It’s almost like we consider ourselves 1-0 in the playoffs after a game like this,” said Edwards, who rushed 24 times for 160 yards and three touchdowns. “The defense stepped up big, just like they’ve been doing all year.”
Edwards began the scoring with a 40-yard keeper to cap the game’s first possession, but Briscoe’s PAT conversion try was wide. South halfback Patrick Dobry then got the Mustangs on the board with a 43-yard TD on a draw, giving South a 7-6 lead after one quarter.
The teams also traded second-quarter TDs, as Edwards rambled 22 yards midway through the quarter. That was answered as Burdi (13 of 25 for 167 yards) found Rick Loisi from 13 yards out in the final minute of the half to lift South into a 14-13 advantage.
North, which has won three in a row over the Mustangs, came in averaging 36 points per game, received a big effort from Maxwell Gilbert (12 carries, 62 yards).
“They maybe keyed on (running back) Justin [Shelly] a bit more during the week and Max came up huge,” Edwards said. “
